CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jonattan Vegas played the best golf no one saw on Thursday at the PGA Championship.
The gorgeous sunlight after three days of rain brought out a full house of spectators hoping for a great show. They didn’t get it from Rory McIlroy, Scotty Schaufferer, Xander Schauffere – who they came to see.
Two good PAR saves. Two short birdies. Another par save. And at the end of the 64-under 64, three birdies gave 40-year-old Venezuela the best score in 45 rounds in the majors, giving him a two-shot lead on the surprise first day.
“Incredible,” Vegas said as asked to summarise his round. “The chances of shooting a 64 in a major championship are always great.”
Equally incredibly, for the first time in at least 30 years, after 18 holes in the majors, no top 10 players in the world were found in the top 10 leaderboards.
The biggest crowd belonged to the top three in the world, and it wasn’t as exciting as four of the last five majors they combined to win.
In his first major since winning the Masters to complete a career Grand Slam, McIlroy didn’t make a birdie on his final 12 holes and there was nothing to say about it after a 3-over 74 sent him straight into range.
Schauferle, world number one and defending PGA champion, did a lot about the mud ball on the tee shot, especially on the 16th hole he sent to double bogeys. Schaeffler stopped two shots from at least off the Green – one for birdies and the other for Eagle – and he sent to 69 with a 6-iron from 215 yards for 3 feet from 6-iron on No. 9.
“I did a good job of fighting and keeping the head of the level there during the day, where there was definitely some challenging aspects to the course,” Schaeffler said. “I did a good job posting numbers on days when I didn’t have the best.”
Vegas was tied for the lead by falling up and down from behind the green on a par 5 seed. He holed an 18-foot birdie putt to his 8th short par 4. And in the rough hole No. 9, his tee shot held up in the grass, just close to the bunker. He smacked it 25 feet and finished a great day with a third straight birdie.
He never finished in the top 20 in the majors and had not qualified for this in three years. He is the first player to represent Venezuela, holding either a lead or a joint lead after a round in the majors.
Vegas was the only player to lead two shots over PGA Tour rookie Ryan Gerald, who grew up in North Carolina, and reached under the age of seven on the final two holes until his bogey. He was joined by Australian Cam Davis in the 66.
They weren’t the only ones who needed to introduce casual golf fans.
Alex Smurley was the first alternative he discovered about 15 hours ago before teeing off that there was a spot on the field, rolling into a 70-foot Eagle Putt on his way to the 67.
They were joined by a large group, including Luke Donald, the 47-year-old Ryder Cup captain in Europe, who was the only player without bogeys on the cards. US captain Keegan Bradley was another shot.
“It’s always fun at major championships on courses that I didn’t think were ideal for me,” said Donald, who is just on the field for the American tradition of inviting active Ryder Cup captains.
Considering the champions that Major has produced in recent years, this leaderboard was similar to the Myrtle Beach Classic. None of the top eight players have ever won majors or seriously competed.
Gerald was playing comfortably in front of the crowds of the house. He made a tough par on the sturdy 9th hole, then drove off four straight birdies on the back nine, then drilled a hole in the Eagle’s 60 footer on the par 5 15th before reaching 7 under in the round. His 66 has been compared to the third best score by golfers in his first career round at the PGA Championship since becoming stroke play in 1958.
Davis had seven birdies and narrowly missed a 10-foot putt into his final hole for the lead. It’s not bad for those who have recently finished their five straight miss cut stretches and haven’t had the top 10 since early February.
“It’s just trying to get back to what’s been working all the time, trying to hold your head where you don’t feel like you’re always hitting the wall,” Davis said. “It allows it to come organically – a good process, a good routine, every small one percent will ultimately become a good golf.”
67 others became winners of their first PGA Tour last year.
Schaeffler, at 69, had the highest score than anyone in the top 10 in the world.
A four-time Cool Hollow winner, McIlroy took part in this PGA Championship, believing that the Thrilla Holl Masters title, which gave him a grand slam last month, would be the highlight of his career no matter what he does from here.
I wasn’t going to change that, especially the sloppy round round from the tee. It was amazing to see him struggling with Quazul Hollow since the second round of the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship.
Schauffele was caught up in 72 people in his bid to go straight to the PGA Championship.
Jordan Spieth will have to wait until next year at Aronimink to try out his career grand slam. The three-time major champion lacked only the Wanamaker Trophy from his major collection, running three straight bogeys early in the back nine and shooting a 76.
Bryson DeDanbaugh finished his round evenly, highlighted by a hole-in-one near the 17th day of par-3. He didn’t make birdies on any of the par-4s, but this was the second time in his career that took place in the PGA.
Field finished with a score tailored to a PAR of +171 on Quazul Hollow (Nos. 16-18) on the “Green Mile” hole, with hole 16 playing the most intensely on the course (+64). The stretch had a total of 29 birdies compared to the 27 polka dots in the opening round
This report uses information from the Associated Press.
